Cry
by Kanjii
Summary: Kiba doesn't cry, yet that day, he did. [One-shot.]


**CRY **

I cried, that day. I never cried before, because I'm Kiba, Inuzuka Kiba, and I'm strong. I don't cry, I don't, I don't, I didn't, but I cried that day. Something broke, broke inside me and it might've been my heart and it might not have been, I'm not sure, because now, I'm not sure of anything anymore, because you're _not here _anymore, _not here. _

I thought that everything would be okay, because our opponents were dead, dead, and now you are too. I thought everything would be okay because we were back at Konoha. I thought everything would be okay even if we were both injured, because we were in _Konoha _and Konoha never let us down before, but now it did, they let us down, let me down let you down and now you're _dead. _

But that's not even the real reason why you're dead. You're dead because…because…

_Dead because Sasuke decided to abandon Konoha._

That bastard, I'll get him, get him if it's the last thing I do. Because if he hadn't run off we wouldn't have run after him and you'd still be running along with me today, but you're not, you're not. You're not here because you got killed while we were trying to bring Sasuke back where he belongs. And now, you're dead, but he's still not here and everything we did was for _nothing. _

_We failed._

_I_ failedyou.

And you're dead and _no one cares _because your death didn't change _anything. _

Your name, it's not even on the memorial stone where it ought to be. To them, you're not important enough, not great enough just because you walked on four legs and you were covered in fur and you weren't human. You weren't a ninja, to them, but I know, I know that you were just as great as any ninja and your name deserves to be on that fucking stone.

But no, your name, it won't be remembered by anyone, anyone but me. You don't get any recognition, you just get your name remembered by me and carved onto a little stone in a small graveyard where no one goes and _no one cares. _

I'll change that. I'll make them see that you were just as great as everyone else. There's the memorial stone, right in front of me covered in names, but yours isn't on there even though these peoples' names and legacies, they aren't _anything _compared to yours.

I don't need a knife or some fancy carving tool or even a sharp rock. It's just rock, just stone, I don't need anything but my bare hands and my nails. I'm strong – rock is nothing to me. I could break this damn stone if I wanted to, but I'm not going to because people respect the names on here and so if your name's on here, they'll finally realize how great you were and they'll respect you, too.

_Scratch._

A.

_Scratch._

K.

_Scratch._

A.

_Scratch._

M.

_Scratch._

A.

_Scratch._

R.

_Scratch._

U.

_Scratch._

I'm sorry.

_Scratch._

I miss you.

_Scratch._

See. There. Now, these people, they'll know you and you won't be respected. Your name's the largest on there, and people will see it and maybe they'll remember, no…not maybe, they _will _remember. And the people of the future, they'll see it too and they won't forget you and you won't be forgotten, ever.

Hinata and Shino and Kurenai-sensei, they're staring at me now and I'm staring back. I don't remember them anymore. They're nothing but some people in my life, because nothing's important anymore because you're gone. Mother, mother, she wanted me to find another dog but I can't do that, never could never will because no one can replace you, no one.

But they're staring at me and I stare back at all of them. Hinata looks scared, almost. Silly girl, she's always so nervous and unsure. She'll never be a good ninja like that. Shino, Shino looks like himself but he doesn't look like anything because I can't see his eyes, he's blank, blanker than Hinata even though she's the one with the blank white eyes. Kurenai-sensei, Kurenai doesn't deserve to be called sensei. A sensei is supposed to help their student, and you were her student as much as I was and she didn't help you. No one helped you, but I tried, I tried and I failed and Konoha failed us.

Kurenai didn't help us, she's no good sensei.

And my hands are wet, which is strange, because I didn't go anywhere near water and it hadn't rained, and I think they're staring at my hands and not me so I lift my hands up and look at them. They're red, and they're bleeding and I think some of my fingernails are torn off and it _hurts _but it's nothing compared to the pain you went through when you died. It's nothing. My hands drop to my sides again and I ask them, What are you all staring at?

Kurenai, she wants to take me to the hospital and get my wounds treated. They're not serious, these so-called wounds. They're not killing me. She wants to rush me to the hospital, but that's not going to help because they took you to the hospital but it didn't help you. The hospital, that's useless. I don't need it, I don't need to go.

They're looking at the memorial stone now, and I look down too, and I see your name and I think I see some of my fingernails in the stone, but that doesn't matter because now, _your name is on there _and that's good.

And now, I think I hear Hinata saying something, I think she's talking about you and I think she's saying she's sorry about you. And that's nice, it really is, but it doesn't matter because she's said it before, they've all said it before, but that doesn't mean they'll remember you and care about you and miss you forever, but I will. They won't, but I will.

Now, now I'm not there anymore. Now I'm at the bridge and it's raining and the river, it's violent and rushing and roaring and the rain feels like needles, but I don't put my hood up anyway.

You're crying, aren't you? Do you miss me too?

I've never kept you waiting, have I?

Never…never kept you waiting…

I'm thinking again, now. Thinking about birds, and wings and flying and the wind and the earth underneath me. You were earthbound, just as earthbound as I am so I bet that you wanted to fly, fly at least once. Well, can you fly now? Can you?

Maybe I can fly too.

They always say, always say that you'll never know anything if you never try anything so I want to know how, can I fly?

Just wait a few more minutes, Akamaru. I'm coming now.

You can stop crying now.

* * *

Woohoo, procrastinating on Can't Let Go some more. Was listening to Yellowcard – Only One and this idea hit me. In the head. At 300 mph. I was re-reading my Naruto manga while the song was playing, and I got to the part where Kiba was thinking, _I won't let Akamaru end up like that again. _This was after the Sound Four part of the manga, where Akamaru gets seriously injured in the fight against Sakon and Ukon.

And that sent me thinking, what would Kiba do if Akamaru didn't survive?

Here's the product. Woot.

Yes, his thoughts are supposed to seem fragmented.

I don't write sad/angst/tragedy fics a lot. O.o;


End file.
